Once upon a time there was a pair of pants. They were an essential kind of pants - jeans, naturally, blue, but not that stiff, new blue that you see so often on the first day of school. They were a soft, changeable blue with a little extra fading at the knee and the seat and white wavelets at the cuffs.

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares has been on my reading list forever. Now I've finally gotten around to reading it. I expect everyone and their grandmother has read this already, so I'm not concerned too much about spoilers in this review.

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is about a group of four fifteen-year-old girls living in Bethesda, Maryland. Their mothers were friends and attented birth classes together - the girls were all born during the month of September. Lena, Bridget, Carmen and Tibby practically grew up together, and have been best friends since they were born. Now, during their fifteen summer, they are going to be separated for the first time: Lena is going to Greece to visit her grandparents; Carmen is spending the summer with her dad (her parents are divorced); Bridget is attending soccer camp in California; and Tibby is staying at home, with a boring summer job at Wallman's.

Before they are separated, though, they discover a pair of jeans with the apparent magical property of looking great on each of them, in spite of their different builds. They decide that the Pants will be passed between them throughout the summer, as a way for them to keep in touch and feel close to each other. During the summer, Lena falls in love for the first time; Bridget pursues a guy who's too old for her; Carmen has a difficult time adjusting to her dad's new family; and Tibby learns to see life thorugh the eyes of a wise twelve-year-old.What I liked the most about this book is that all four girls have something that makes them special. They grow up, make mistakes, laugh, and cry, but they are all special in some way. The character I can relate to the most is maybe Tibby, with her snarky personality. But I liked all four girls, really. I look forward to reading the next book in the Sisterhood series.